our next trip will be without the DDP and here's why...

[Dani Dani Dani]

My family has gone to Disney 3 times since August 06 and we'll be going again from August 29-Sept 3. We've used the DDP every time and will be using it again when we go in August. For us- it's nice to just be able to go to a restaurant and let the kids (they're 13 and 10) pick whatever they want off the menu and not have to worry about it's price. We went in August of 04as well and didn't have the dining plan. I can easily say that we spent well over $2k just in food/snacks for the 7 days that we were there. With the DDP- we also spend a lot of $$ but for the price it cost per person- I feel it's more than worth it.

As for having a schedule around our ADR's- every time we go to Disney- we know exactly what we want to do and what day we want to do it on. Therefore we make all our reservations around what we plan on doing for the day. We like specific restaurants and each time we go to Disney- we look forward to eating at them.

 

[SlightlyGoofy]

I know that the resort tax is at 11% where we stay but maybe the tax on food is a different matter.

I just looked up the tax in Osceola County and it is 7%. Still significant on the high prices at many Disney restaurants though.

Slightly Goofy

 

[TheBigQ]

We've paid for the DDP for our upcoming trip in October. I like the idea of having our main meals paid for - we can fill in where we need too. I was back & forth for a long time & tortured my DH for months about whether to add the DDP or not. So one day I just called my TA & added/paid for the DDP. We needed 8 TSs - so I scheduled 3 dinners, 3 lunches (1 is CRT), & 1 breakfast.

The restaurants that we picked probably won't give us the biggest bang out of the DDP but I'm not worried about it. The convenience of having it prepaid, not having to carry around a lot of cash, & being able to eat at different restaurants then we would have makes it worth it for us. I was also hesitant to do the DDP because I was afraid we would need to cancel a TS and then I'd worry about replacing it. But we're staying at the Poly so we could always have room service which probably won't get the most $$$ benefit out of the DDP but it will work for us.

I can't say enough how convenient the paying ahead of time helps us out - months later after paying off our vacation (and ddp) things have been really tough lately but I don't have to worry about finding extra money for meals. We had to cancel our trip in May 07 due to DD being sick so there is no way I can cancel this trip unless of course we get sick again . The DDP has some many variables to it I think everyone needs to figure out what works for their family.

 

[byoung]

We like the plan, befor we would always eat at TS thoughout the trip anyway. It saves us a lot.

 

[karenjo]

Our August trip will be our third time using the DDP. We are "eat the evening meal together at the table" people at home and follow that pattern on vacation. DDP has been wonderful for us, and I feel that I can eat what I WANT rather than trying to balance desire and price..... and being able to come home from a vacationwith NO BILLS to pay is the best part!

 

[mom2rb]

The first time my family used DDP, we didn't really care for it. There was way too much food and too many reservations. This last trip we found a way to make it work. We now use most of our TS at signature restaurants. This way we eat at much nicer places a few times and share CS meals the rest of the time. It really made a difference.

 

[Cinders Mum]

we have never done the DDP before, and will use if for 2 weeks out of the 3 we are staying this year. However, we do not work our dining to get the biggest bang for our buck, we will order what we want to eat and if that happens to be the cheapest thing on the menu then so be it.

Having said that, I don't think we will repeat the DDP, I wait to be proven wrong, however, I think the room discounts I can get are worth more in the longer term than the savings on the plan.

Val
xx

 

[AnninIowa]

I'm so glad to see others feel the same way I do! We did the Dining Plan on our first trip to WDW in October 2005, but did not do it this last trip in February. I loved NOT being on the plan - we could eat what we want, when we wanted, and didn't feel so full or rushed from trying to get to all our ADR's. Seriously, just thinking about all that food makes me sick! My normal day is a banana for breakfast, a couple of snacks throughout the day, and then dinner...but never with an appetizer. It IS nice to have everything pre-paid, but I'm earning Disney Dollars with my Disney Visa as well as working towards a Visa Gift Card on my business credit card - by next year I should have enough to cover a lot of our food.

 

[TDC Nala]

I like eating in places that either don't take it or charge 2 credits, so I generally don't use it.

 

[m-i-c-cakeywhy]

We just returned from an 8 day/7 night trip on the ddp. We paid just under $1100 for the plan for our family of 4. After adding up all of our receipts, we ate about $1650 of food. Sounds great, right...really got our money's worth? That's what I've thought for the last four trips that we've used the plan. However, I'm going to go without the plan next time.

It seems that with the dining plan our days, nights, our whole vacation! is planned around our ADRs and getting the most "value" out of the plan. I'm sure it's because we are frugal...we can't seem to let go of the "how close to $4 can I come to get the most out of this snack credit!" or "what's the most expensive item on the menu--even if it doesn't sound good!" mentality!

Also, if we go without the plan, we won't be ordering so many appetizers, desserts, and specialty drinks. We were constantly so full that we couldn't even enjoy the snacks in parks. Who wants a Dole Whip or a funnel cake when you're already bloated and rolling through the parks?!?

So, I think we're going to choose our favorite TS's (maybe 3 of them) and build our Disney Visa rewards in hopes of paying for those and our CSs and snacks out of pocket. I'm thinking we may enjoy the flexibility alot more...plus we'll enjoy the food because we'll actually be hungry instead of constantly full!

Any comments or experiences similar to mine?

Carmen

hi there....I am sort of in a similar situation. My trip, scheduled for the first week in august...I have booked disney dining plan for my family of 4. After reading so many negative comments I wonder if it isn't worth it to cancel. I too want a little more freedom. (too bad they don't sell singles....so you could purchase only one or two discounted meals or snacks...)
anyway, I have had the Visa rewards for about 5 years and never realized I was racking up disney bucks..anyway, turns out I have over 900 disney bucks, which I can now use for my meals....From what I've read I think I will probably get better service and have more choice if I bug out of the dining plan....hmmmm

 

[Colleen27]

So, I think we're going to choose our favorite TS's (maybe 3 of them) and build our Disney Visa rewards in hopes of paying for those and our CSs and snacks out of pocket. I'm thinking we may enjoy the flexibility alot more...plus we'll enjoy the food because we'll actually be hungry instead of constantly full!

Any comments or experiences similar to mine?

I'm glad the first time we tried the dining plan was during free dining, because I felt no compulsion to try to get the most for our money. We didn't worry about ordering everything we're entitled to or making the most of our credits - we just enjoy having our food pre-paid and ordering whatever we feel like without regard to price.

We'll be using the dining plan for one of our trips this year and not for the other, and I am happy with both ways. We actually like more sit downs, less counter service, and fewer snacks than the plan provides, so on the trip without it we have 17 ADRs over a 12 day trip, but we'll eat very little CS and mostly share appetizers, desserts and snacks to get a taste without gorging ourselves. On the trip that we're using the plan for, we've planned a trip to Goofy's Candy Co. on our last day to use up the snack credits we're sure to have left over on goodies to bring home to the kids' friends.

 

[Colleen27]

I didn't realize that the sales tax in Orlando was 11%. And I thought I had it bad in NY with 8.25%.

It is 6.5%, not 11%. The tax on the room is higher, but the sales tax alone isn't that bad.